


Hulk Hearts Puppies

by agentsimmons



Series: The Many Adventures of Bear Banner-Stark [1]
Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adorable Hulk, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Light-Hearted, M/M, Marvel Cameos, Science Boyfriends, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-04-06 18:11:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4231734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentsimmons/pseuds/agentsimmons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony learns something new and very fluffy about Bruce and Hulk. So naturally Tony's enthusiasm takes over from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Doggie In The Window

**Author's Note:**

> Been working on this fic for about a month (and then it turned into a series idea so we'll see where that goes, but I'm hopeful and left some guidelines in this fic should it come about). Anyways, this fic is of course loosely inspired by Hulk loving puppies in the comics plus Bruce having the stray dog in The Incredible Hulk. But admittedly my familiarity with TIH on a whole is shaky having only seen it a few times - need to rewatch - so if there's discrepancies, it's on me and will just have to be ignored for the sake of this work :3 Also this piece uses the concept of Bruce and Tony working together to understand Hulk and bringing about some kind of working relationship/peace between Bruce and Hulk (as done a million times better by other writers in this fandom). Finally, Avengers Mansion is an emerging thing in the little verse I've created for this work and any potential future works in the series (because I'm actually a huge fangirl for the Mansion - no offense, Tower). Okay, that should cover it. Oh wait, sorry in advance for awfully recognized/inconsistent Hulk speak.

**1 - Doggie In The Window**

"I move that we start charging the good professor a minimal fee whenever we have to take down his rogue students," Clint said over the comms as soon as the recent battle was ended and the dust had settled.

The Avengers had faced a handful of mutant teens attempting to defect from Professor X's school and prove themselves as villains. They had managed to terrorize Manhattan relatively well with their combined powers.

"Motion denied," Steve answered sharply as he and Natasha guarded the teens with the help of a few SHIELD agents that had arrived on the scene. "Xavier already feels guilty enough as it is when this kind of thing happens. And we don't charge fees for doing the right thing."

"Relax, Cap. Just a joke. But he could have at least sent someone in to help sooner. The X-Jet landed in Central about 8 minutes ago."

"Either way we need them to handle it from here," Steve responded patiently, ignoring Clint's complaint.

“Anyone have eyes on Hulk?” Tony interrupted their discussion as he landed roughly on the pavement next to Steve and Natasha.

"Why is that always your first question?" Clint asked in response.

"What kind of question is _that_ , Barton?" Tony snapped a little. "You really need to ask why my first priority is finding Banner?"

"Nope," Clint answered dryly. "Just questioning your incessant worry that Hulk - you know, _strongest one there is_ \- can't handle himself."

"I'm not having this conversation right now," Tony snapped again. "Just tell me if you see him. It was a forced transformation so he might be on edge. The sooner I get to him the better."

They hadn't really needed the Hulk at all for this skirmish, what with no heavy hitters to go up against, and so Bruce had worked on evac with the police, as he now sometimes did - along with offering first response for any injuries when he could. But one of the mutants had made the mistake of threatening civilians Bruce was trying to evacuate. He had warned the teen not to do anything foolish only to be struck by the teen's concussive shockwaves in response to his warning. The Other Guy had not been amused.

"No sign of him from here," Clint finally answered.

Tony was about to take off and look for him, since Thor was currently off world and unable to offer an extra set of eyes up high as he usually did, but was interrupted before he could. Wolverine and Storm were approaching them quickly.

"I hope that tower of yours is dog proof, bub," Logan said upon arrival. He looked directly at Tony. "Passed your big, green boyfriend several blocks back staring at some puppies in a pet shop," he explained.

Tony scrunched his face as Clint's laugh came over the comms and Natasha tilted her head curiously. "Well, that's a new one," Tony finally said and took off in the direction the two X-Men had come.

"How much is that doggie in the window?" Clint sing-songed.

"JARVIS, cut the connection," Tony commanded and the AI complied.

Sure enough, he found Hulk sitting on the sidewalk in front of a pet shop window, a finger ghosting against the glass as if afraid it might shatter if he touched it. Tony landed softly and stepped out of the suit. He watched from a distance for a few moments, smiling at the content look on the face of his boyfriend's alter ego.

"Good job protecting Bruce and those civilians, Big Green," Tony said in gentle praise as he came up to stand beside Hulk, leaning slightly on his goliath shoulder. "You okay?"

"Hulk good. Puppies," Hulk answered.

"I can see that." Tony smiled again. "And is Bruce okay in there? You know he hates it when you guys are caught off guard like that."

"Banner good. Puppies," he reiterated.

Tony furrowed his brow this time. "Puppies? Oh, wait, so are you saying you _both_ like puppies? Do they calm you down, Big Guy?" Hulk merely grunted affirmatively. "Huh. I wonder why Bruce has never mentioned it."

"Banner have dog before. Lose it when run."

"Is that so?" Tony tried to think back to the few stories Bruce had shared with him of his time in hiding - he didn't like talking about it often. He hadn't mentioned having a dog.

"Banner find dog, take care of it," Hulk elaborated. "Dog not afraid of us. Dogs never afraid of Hulk."

Tony turned a more observant eye on the puppies in the window. Sure enough, they were mesmerized by Hulk, playfully bouncing around to get his attention and some licking at the window. It was, for lack of any other proper descriptor, _adorable_. He almost hated how adorable it was because it was just another example of how completely soft and sentimental he had become in recent years, especially where Bruce and Hulk were now concerned. The goofy smile on his face was plastered on so permanently that he would just have to accept it and learn to like it – which, he already did if only he'd admit it.

"So, let me see if I've got this straight, Big Guy. Bruce had a dog, but then you guys couldn't take it with you and so he never risked taking in anymore strays. Is that it?" Hulk grunted again in affirmation. "Wish I could find that dog for you guys," Tony then said, thinking aloud.

He was obscenely rich and typically a miracle worker, but even that one seemed out of his control. How long had that been? How old was the dog? Was it alive? Had it found a new home? He really didn't like this sad progression of thoughts and shook his head to banish them, sighing as he did.

"Hulk understand," the behemoth said with a shrug as he finally lowered his finger from the glass.

But Tony did not _at_ _all_ like the sad inflection in Hulk's tone or the creases at his brow. There was too much of Bruce in them. Whether or not the other man would remember any of this when he awakened Tony could tell that, in this moment, Hulk and Bruce were on the same page somewhere deep in their shared psyche. The Hulk's defeated mannerisms were every bit a reflection of Bruce's.

"You want a dog, don't you, Hulk," Tony said knowingly, biting the bullet. His mind was all but made up. He only needed to hear it from Hulk himself since his reaction to having a dog would be of more concern than Bruce's.

Hulk turned to him with such a surprised and hopeful expression that Tony all but admitted it to himself right then and there that, yes, he had gone completely, one hundred percent soft and he wouldn't have it any other way. "Hulk can have puppy?" Hulk pointed at the window.

"Ah, well, not one of those puppies," Tony explained tentatively. "I'll have to do some research and figure out what would be the best dog for us, but then, yeah, eventually, Big Guy. We can _all_ have a puppy. You, me, and Bruce. We would share him, okay? Take care of him together."

Hulk gave him an exasperated huff that was also so much like Bruce that Tony couldn't help but bite down a laugh whenever it happened. "Hulk knows. We share. Family."

Yes, he was practically a marshmallow these days because Tony beamed at the green giant and nodded. "That's right, Hulk. Family."

"Team too?"

"Uh," Tony considered it for a moment, "I guess they can help out and play with him, but it'll be mainly our dog, okay?"

"Good," Hulk said with a pleased, almost possessive grunt and this time Tony couldn't fight the laugh that bubbled up inside.


	2. Side Effects of Puppies May Include

**2 - Side Effects of Puppies May Include**

"Okay, Big Green. I have a surprise for you," Tony said as he approached Hulk in an open field, carrying a box. 

There hadn't been need for the Hulk in battle for nearly a month so Tony and Bruce had decided it would be best to let the Other Guy get out for a while. Early on in Tony's attempts to get Bruce to stop treating his alter ego as strictly a monster, Tony had suggested maybe Hulk wouldn't be so angry if he felt less trapped and more like he was allowed to exist. Bruce had been skeptical - and that was putting it mildly - at first, and it had taken all of the persistent charm Tony could manage to convince him to try, but each test of Tony's theory proved further and further that Hulk wasn't a mindless killing, or even smashing, machine.

It had led to calmer days for Bruce, not that he and Hulk didn't still struggle for control sometimes - Hulk was still an emotional creature with intense self-preservation instincts - and amidst all the time working together to understand Hulk better, it had ultimately led to Tony and Bruce being no longer able to deny that there was an underlying reason why they were so invested in the project. Bruce wanted desperately to stay in one place and Tony wanted desperately to make that possible for him, but finally they realized it was about wanting to be wherever the other was.

Tony had spent this particular afternoon with Hulk, watching him smash and _frolic even_ as he often did when he had a day out that didn't involve taking care of bad guys. And as he wore his suit, he even helped smash a few things with his repulsors. However, the sun was starting to set and so Tony decided now was a good time to run his experiment, which was one of the reasons he had been eager to let Hulk out to play in the first place. He had asked Hulk to wait for him while he flew to a nearby SHIELD agent who had been keeping an eye on two puppies at his request. Those puppies were in the box he was carrying.

Hulk noticed immediately. "Puppies."

"That's right. Now these aren't ours. We'll get one soon, Hulk. But you have permission to play with these little guys for a while. You've got to be extra gentle though."

"Hulk not smash puppies. Hulk not hurt nice animals."

"I know, Big Guy. Just meant to watch your strength. But I know you can handle it." And that was true. Hulk had come a long way in figuring out how to control his strength and roughness since joining the team of smashable, puny people. It was why Tony ultimately trusted him in this situation, but it was definitely necessary to make sure Hulk could handle having a dog if they were to get one.

Tony set down the box and the puppies immediately jumped out and began sniffing around, until they came to Hulk. They looked up at him, heads quirking side to side in curiosity before wagging their tails and running around him hoping to play. Hulk laughed his typical gravely laugh and Tony couldn't resist joining in with his own. It was just too ridiculously adorable and Tony could only think that whoever had coined the phrase "Man's Best Friend" had been a genius because clearly it applied to Hulks as well.

"Have names?" Hulk asked as he carefully played with the puppies with two large fingers.

"Uh, dunno," Tony answered with a shrug. "Didn't ask. But, hey, you have any ideas for when we get our dog? What would you want to name it?"

Hulk didn't answer right away. He continued playing with the puppies that jumped and tussled and even gnawed at his hands though he didn't feel it.

"Not sure," he answered after a moment, shrugging. "Names hard."

Tony chuckled slightly. "Yeah, they are. I'm thinking something really masculine. Like Zeppelin. But I'm not sure if that would be Bruce's cup of tea. Oh god, as long as it's not something like Oolong," Tony rambled as he sat down on the ground and played with one of the puppies as well. 

After several minutes Hulk began to get that faraway look in his eyes that indicated he was starting to let go of control and give it back to Bruce. Finally, he carefully lay backwards on the ground, closing his eyes.

"Sweet dreams, Hulk," Tony said, reaching across and patting him on his colossal knee. "See you when you wake up again."

Hulk grunted, pleased by the idea, but then let out a rumble of a laugh as the puppies scurried on top of him and began licking his face. Tony laughed too, but then it was choked off slightly by the unbelievable sight of Hulk returning to Bruce's form at an almost lightning fast speed compared to how long it usually took.

"Well, that's a hell of a weakness," Tony said in amusement as he shook his head. "I always knew you were a teddy bear, Big Guy."

Bruce groaned slightly and blinked open bleary eyes. "What the…" He pulled his head back and tried to move it away from the onslaught of puppy kisses he hadn't been expecting. "Tony?" Bruce spotted him from the corner of his eyes. He then finally managed to pick up the puppies and hold them to his chest as he sat up.

In spite of his obvious confusion, a warm smile spread across Bruce's face as he held onto the puppies, petting them gently. It was the final reassurance Tony needed. Bruce was clearly a dog person and Tony was more than ready for this responsibility. In a strange sort of way that Tony was still a little unsure of, it almost felt like the next step in their relationship. Something living and breathing that they could take care of together...

"-riously though, where did you get the puppies? And why?" Bruce cut through Tony's drifting thoughts.

"Here's hoping none of the bad guys ever figure out they can take down the Hulk with puppies," Tony quipped, rather than answering his initial questions. "It would be so Kawaii I think the world would just kind of explode." Although he couldn't deny every weakness Bruce and Hulk had was more than a little concerning, even something as silly as this.

Bruce arched an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"The puppies," Tony explained at last. "Borrowed them for Hulk to play with because he mentioned a while back that puppies calm him down."

"Makes sense," Bruce murmured as he looked back down at the puppies now snuggling in his lap.

"I thought it would be neat to let him have some fun and also see just how much they calm him down. But I sure wasn't expecting you to come back down after a few minutes of his playing with them," Tony continued. "Seriously. It was like Hulk to Bruce in 3.5."

"That… Okay, yeah, that's a little odd," Bruce replied with a slight twist of his head.

"Any other side effects from puppy-induced deHulkification we should make a note of?" Tony asked as if it was the most serious, natural question in the world because, yeah, this was his life now and it was pretty amazing.

Bruce laughed in slight amusement. "Well, I…" He then scrunched his face slightly. "Huh. You know, I don't feel _as_ tired as usual and my mental faculties returned pretty quickly."

"How 'bout that. This could be our biggest breakthrough yet, Bruce," Tony said with a smile as he moved to carefully put the tired out puppies back into the box and then help Bruce stand to his feet.

"Well, it might be a contender for the weirdest one anyway," Bruce said with another small laugh as he took the box from Tony to carry.

Before they started back for the car, where the SHIELD agent and a shirt for Bruce both were waiting, Tony leaned across the box, snaked a hand to the back of Bruce's neck and gave him a sloppy kiss. When he pulled away, Bruce wore a smile and expression that all but said, "What was that for?" As if Tony ever needed a reason, obviously, but this time he did have one.

"Couldn't wait," he explained with a shrug. "You with those puppies, Bruce. It's just too much."


	3. Puppy Planning

**3 - Puppy Planning**

Tony was a little out of his depth. Everything he knew about dogs and taking care of them had come from his copious amounts of research over the past month and a half. So figuring out how to prepare for the arrival of a puppy to the tower without giving away the surprise to Bruce was a challenge so frustrating that he finally had to go to the team for help.

"Are you really sure you should bring a puppy into the tower?" Steve was the first to speak up about the issue in his usual fashion. "It's not exactly dog friendly is it?"

Tony scoffed. "It'll be fine. It's not like this is our permanent residence or anything so I'm not going to let one of my many homes deter me. And he'll be trained by the best for when we are here. And JARVIS will keep an eye on him. It's just getting the proper, you know, care stuff into our apartment without Bruce being any the wiser that has me stumped."

Steve sighed. "Yeah, alright. I guess having a dog around the tower will be kind of nice."

"I'm not really a dog person," Natasha interjected dryly. "So make sure it doesn't come anywhere near my apartment. And no doing those gross dog people things like eating after it when I'm in the room."

"Dogs have cleaner tongues than people, Nat," Clint pointed out as she grimaced at the thought.

"Maybe cleaner than your tongue, Clint," she said with a slight quirk of her lips before looking at Tony sharply.

"Yeah, don't worry," Tony intervened. "There'll be rules. It's Bruce's dog and mine so he'll probably mostly be with us. And I'm pretty sure Bruce and I will both agree that we'll never be one of _those_ dog owners."

"That's what they all say," Clint said with a smirk. "By the way if you're taking name suggestions, my vote is Pizza."

"Pizza?" Steve raised his brow at the archer.

"We are not calling it Pizza or any other dumb name you can come up with, Bird Brain," Tony responded with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, well, I was just throwing it out there. Better that than some boring science-y name you two will probably come up with," Clint said with a shrug.

"Or worse," Natasha deadpanned, "Fido."

"Are you guys going to help me or not?" Tony grew impatient. "I know most of the stuff we'll need right away, but I haven't the slightest idea how to prep the place and get the little guy in here without Bruce figuring it out and I'm running out of time."

"Running out of time for what?" Bruce asked as he came into the communal kitchen, heading for the tea maker.

"Oh, uh…" Tony looked around at the team with more than obvious panic. "Nothing important. I can fill you in later."

Bruce paused in his tracks and turned to look at Tony. He gave him a studious glance, licking his lips slightly in contemplation. "Whenever you say it's nothing important, it usually is. So how about you fill me in now?"

"Fine," Tony sighed and the others looked at him with wide eyes. "We were just going over some of the details about Avengers Mansion and I… I mentioned something that I kind of wanted to be a surprise, Bruce."

Bruce narrowed his eyes at his answer and Tony held his breath. "I told you, we're not putting shag carpet in the master bedroom."

"Shag carpet?" Clint asked with a laugh and looked at Tony. "Dude, how messed up are you?"

"No, no, it's not about the shag carpet… But I'm going to break you down on that eventually," Tony said smugly, pointing his finger with a small grin.

Bruce rolled his eyes and snorted. "I wouldn't count on that," he said, turning back to make his tea. "But maybe we can figure out a compromise later. So if it's not the shag carpet, what _are_ you up to, Tony?"

"Like I said, Bruce. I really, really, really want it to be a surprise. I know you don't like them, but maybe you can just let me have this one. Hmm?"

Bruce sighed. "Alright. As long as it's nothing too ridiculous," he warned. "Anything else you _can_ tell me?"

"The contractor called and said they just started work on our lab," Tony replied in a chipper voice, happy to have the other subject steered away from and genuinely pleased to discuss their new workspace.

"Should we maybe go supervise that at some point?" Bruce asked curiously.

A light went off in Tony's head and he took advantage of Bruce's back still being turned to glance around at his teammates with a grin they quickly picked up on. "Uh, you know, maybe we should. Make sure the layout is what we want before they get too far along. Better now than when it's time to move in the actual equipment."

"Mmhmm," Bruce merely hummed his approval.

"I've got SI stuff the next two days, but maybe we can head over Thursday?"

"Sounds good," Bruce answered as he finished making his tea. Turning again, he gave Tony a teasing smile. "Well, I'll leave you to talk about your little surprise again." He walked around the table and bent slightly to give Tony a peck on his lips, Tony meeting it eagerly. "I need a break from those spore samples so I'll be catching up on some reading if you need me."

Tony nodded. "Have fun. Try not to swoon too much over that count guy," he added teasingly as Bruce walked toward the elevator.

"What? Me swoon over a rich, powerful, self-righteous avenger?" Bruce asked archly before entering the elevator and leaving.

"You two have some of the weirdest banter," Clint said with a shake of his head.

"I think it's called being intellectual, Clint," Natasha jibed in a droll tone, causing Tony to laugh and even Steve to snicker. "So," she then looked at Tony, "I assume you want us to take care of the puppy details while you're at the Mansion?"

"Yep," he answered with a clear popping of the 'p' to make his point known. "The breeder is bringing the puppy by around 1 on Thursday so I'll have all the other stuff delivered around 11 so you can set it up in our apartment." He clucked his tongue a little as he considered further details. "Text me if there's any problems, but it should be pretty straightforward. We'll probably be back around 4 so, Steve, if you could maybe sit with the little guy until then, that'd be great. But I also kind of want the apartment to be empty so if you could duck out when JARVIS alerts you to, that'd be great too."

"Hey, why did you ask Steve to sit? I'm great with dogs," Clint said, sounding more than a little offended.

Tony shook his head. "Huh-uh. Only supervised play dates for you, Barton. I won't have you corrupting him or trying to convince him his name is Pizza while I'm not around to stop you."

Clint opened his mouth to retort, but Steve interrupted before he could. "We'll take care of it, Tony," he said with a smile that gave away the fact that in spite of his hesitance about Tony getting a dog, he found it heartwarming how truly giddy the billionaire was about his plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The book Bruce is supposed to be reading is "The Count Of Monte Cristo" for those unfamiliar with the reference. 
> 
> Also, in this little verse, I just couldn't imagine Tony staying at the tower full time since he has his Malibu residence. I imagine he would want to take breaks away from avenging as much as the next working guy (can't be on call 24/7 right?). And now Bruce would be in tow. That concept will come up again a few chapters from now.


	4. Bringing Home Puppy

**4 - Bringing Home Puppy**

"This is the exact opposite of a little guy," Steve said, his eyes wide at the puppy the breeder, a nice enough looking middle-aged woman, held in her arms in the lobby of the tower. The woman claimed it was only 10 weeks old, but it was already a massive ball of brown fur.

Clint smirked. "Leave it to Stark to even get a puppy that's huge. The man just can't help himself, can he?"

"Hey there, little guy," Natasha said, irony dripping in her voice as she pet the puppy and then took it from the breeder.

"Is he…" Steve started, slightly unsure. "Is he already paper trained?" He thought about the odd Astroturf thing he had set up in one corner of Tony and Bruce's terrace. 

"Yes," the woman answered with a nod. "I've already been over the details with Mr. Stark. As long as he has an artificial pad down somewhere, things should be fine. He's already got some other basic training commands learned. I pride myself in offering healthy, happy dogs to good homes. Which is why, please excuse me, you might understand my slight hesitance in offering a puppy to a group of superheroes. But Mr. Stark is a persuasive man and I've made sure to match him with one that has an excellent temperament. I selected one that would easily make due in a firehouse or as a rescue dog. I hope, of course, that he lives a pretty relaxed life regardless of your antics."

"I'm sure you have gone above and beyond to give my friends' a wonderful new companion," Steve said, flashing his All-American smile as she blushed slightly. "Thank you."

"Well, I do my best. If Mr. Stark has any questions about the breed or concerns about the puppy, please let him know that he can call me during my typical hours. Oh, and before I forget, Mr. Stark implied that he was looking for a dog that won't readily be spooked, is gentle, and patient. You may inform him that this little darling will be just that."

"How do you know that for sure?" Clint asked, suddenly curious.

"Well, it's based on the guidelines for his breed. Newfoundlands are known for being gentle giants for a reason," she explained. "And as long as they don't show any early aggression, they tend to follow the basic rule of thumb for their breed."

"What's that?" Steve was now curious. He'd never heard of this breed before.

"They're nanny dogs through and through."

"Nanny dogs?" Clint's eyebrows shot up. "As in, for kids?"

"Yes. They're quite excellent with kids. Because of their size, they should be watched around babies of course. But I assure you, Mr. Stark can trust this dog to be quite the laidback nurturer he seemed to indicate he wanted. No signs of aggression in this one whatsoever and already responding amazingly to training and high intensity situations. But, again, if he has any questions or concerns, have him reach out to me."

Once the lady had said farewell and left the tower, Clint couldn't hold back his laughter. "So what are the odds Stark even realized he was asking for a dog that would be good with children?"

Natasha handed the puppy over to Steve and then tilted her head slightly, studying it. "Hmm. It's Stark so there's always the off chance he's thinking the exact opposite of what we think he's thinking."

"Maybe," Steve said as he stroked the soft fur. "But in this case it seems a little more obvious that it was for the sake of Hulk or because of our line of work. A failsafe of sorts. I'm more concerned by the fact that this dog is clearly going to be massive. I think I'm going to text Tony just to make sure this is what he was expecting.

* * *

"I can't wait for all of the amazing things we're going to achieve in this space," Tony, ever the futurist, said with calm contentment in his voice as he and Bruce walked hand-in-hand through their would-be lab, still in the barest of bones stage of construction. "I'm thinking maybe I'll ship the particle accelerator out here from Malibu."

"Or you could just build another one," Bruce said with his own content smile. "A genius like you shouldn't be limited to just one."

"You know, your absolute belief in my engineering abilities makes me weak in the knees," he bantered, stopping and pulling Bruce close. "Which reminds me, I can't wait for all of the other amazing things we'll do in this space. And other spaces."

"Is that so?" Bruce raised an eyebrow. "I can't wait to see what you have in mind."

"Oh, I think you have a pretty good idea what I have in mind." Tony smiled, raising his hand to his lips.

"I just might," Bruce said with wry smile of his own.

"Ah, Dr. Banner," the contractor, a man on the younger side, interrupted. "I have found that blueprint you wished to look over regarding the chemical containment room."

"We should fire him for interrupting," Tony said with a pout.

Bruce laughed. "No, we're not firing him for that. He seems like a good kid and this'll put him on the map," he chastised with a small shake of his head, the amusement still on his face. "I'll be right back."

"Yeah, yeah," Tony acknowledged. He then looked over at the contractor. "Hey, Arthur, where are we on that other blueprint?" The contractor, suddenly on the spot, looked warily between Tony and Bruce.

"Can I safely assume this is the surprise you don't want me to know about?" Bruce asked with a smirk, turning a glance back towards Tony.

"Always too clever." Tony wagged his finger at him, as he followed behind.

"It's okay. I can look at this blueprint here and you two can go be sneaky somewhere else," Bruce assured them with another laugh.

"You're the best, babe," Tony said, grabbing Bruce by the shoulders and kissing him on the cheek before following the contractor back to his makeshift office.

As he walked, Tony pulled out his Starkphone to see if there were any messages from the team about his other surprise. Sure enough, there were plenty.

 _Steve >> Tony, did you even see the size of the puppies before agreeing?_  
_Steve >> I looked up Newfoundlands on my phone and this thing is going to be huge. I'll have JARVIS send you a picture._

Tony laughed slightly at the attached photo that was sent from JARVIS' system rather than Steve's phone.

 _Steve >> It's your business, but I really don't think the tower can handle something that big._  
_Steve >> Do you think Bruce will be okay with something that size?_

Tony rolled his eyes slightly and finally sent a text back. 

_Tony >> What did you expect? A purse dog? Look it'll be fine. Is that all you have to complain about? How's everything else? Send me a picture of the little guy._

He then noticed the next messages were all from Clint and debated whether or not he was in the mood to read them. They still had several yards to walk before reaching their destination so he settled on reading them to pass the time.

 _Clint >> leave it to you to get a dog the size of your ego_  
_Clint >> and the Hulk_  
_Clint >> this dog isn't worthy of the name Pizza. he's a cute tyke though. gotta admit it._  
_Clint >> jeez when he gets bigger will he even fit in the elevator?_  
_Clint >> btw I've been learning some fascinating things about Newfies. wanna hear 'em? course you do._  
_Clint >> 2 words: nanny dog_  
_Clint >> that's right Stark. you bought a dog that can babysit your future science babies._  
_Clint >> admit it. you totally wanna have Bruce's science babies._

"Here we are." The contractor broke Tony's attention away from his phone. He had spread out a blueprint on a workbench for the billionaire to take a look at. "With the tweaking of the layout here, it can accommodate your wishes for your private apartment to be enlarged enough to section off.  Essentially you'll have the entire floor rather than a private wing as previously arranged. It'll take longer, but…" Tony had pulled out his phone again at Steve's incoming message and the contractor couldn't help, but see the picture of the puppy. "Cute puppy."

"Thanks. Just got him."

"Newfie?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Yeah," Tony answered before closing the picture again.

"Great dogs. Sister has one. Great with kids."

Putting away his phone, Tony gave the contractor a small smile and nod. "So I've heard. Now you were saying?"


	5. And Puppy Makes 3. Or is it 4? Or is it 8?

**5 - And Puppy Makes 3. Or is it 4? Or is it 8?**

"Sometimes I don't think that place will ever get finished." Bruce made small talk as he and Tony rode the elevator up to their apartment. "What exactly were you thinking again?"

"You know, just trying to upstage X Mansion," Tony answered in jest. Of course, perhaps it wasn't a complete lie. "But, yeah, I might hire some more builders to cut some time off on the project. I'm antsy to get settled in."

Bruce gave him a calculating look. "Are you… Feeling okay? Restless? If you think we should head back to Malibu for a little while…"

Tony tilted his head, considering the idea. He could get just as restless as Bruce for different reasons. It was more manic energy than anything. He had been a billionaire jetsetter for so long it was ingrained in him. His need to split time between residences and take vacations from the team also seemed to help Bruce with his ingrained restlessness.

"Uh, maybe soon. Maybe before the real mess of all the interior stuff at the mansion happens. Besides, you know how much I love having my way with you there." 

Bruce snorted. "Yeah, I've noticed. Not sure I understand it, but I've noticed. But, really, Tony. If you need to get out of here for a little while, I do understand." The elevator door opened and the conversation was put on hold for the time being. "Right now though, I feel like I need a shower and a nap before dinner. Please tell me we can just order something in because I don't feel like cooking for the both of us tonight let alone for the whole team."

"Of course, babe," Tony said with a shrug. "JARVIS, let everyone else know the team dinner plans. Now you just go take your shower and then I'll join you for that nap."

Bruce nodded and then made his way toward their bedroom. While he was gone, Tony began looking around. There was a large food bowl and water trough in a corner of the kitchen. There were chew toys scattered about. There was a large dog bed near the fireplace. How Bruce had noticed none of it was beyond him. But his biggest question was where the puppy might be.

" _Tony?_ " Bruce's shout from their bedroom was the answer to that question and Tony quickly went to see for himself.

Tony found Bruce staring in confusion at the brown fluff ball lying on a pair of Bruce's discarded pajama pants in the far corner of the room. His eyes lit up. "Hey! A puppy! Maybe he wandered into the tower? Can we keep him, Bruce? Please?"

Bruce turned his confused gaze toward Tony instead. "Did you… Did you buy a puppy? Is that what that experiment with the Hulk was about?"

"Yeah, had to make sure your greener half was actually okay around a puppy since I may have promised him we would get a dog. But it's not just for him, Bruce. He knows that. It's for you too. It's for all three of us."

"We share," Bruce said with a nod and a slightly distant look on his face that let Tony know the Hulk had pushed the memory forward on his own accord. It was one of the strange transitions that had begun to occur since Bruce and Hulk had begun to trust one another.

"But is it okay with you? I didn't mean to go behind your back… Okay, yeah, yes I did. But when I found out you're a dog person, I just couldn't help mysel-"

Tony was cut off by Bruce's lips, not that he was complaining. "You bought me a puppy. We're good here. It's a good surprise," Bruce reassured him when he pulled away.

"You really are a sucker for dogs aren't you?" Tony asked with a smile he knew was lopsided and goofy. Bruce just shrugged. "Now can you explain to me why I find it so damn attractive? Because all of my theories are a little-" He was cut off again this time by a much harder kiss and if he didn't know any better he would almost think there was some kind of encrypted answer in Bruce's needy lips.

But it was forgotten as suddenly there was a puppy pawing playfully at their feet. They broke apart and looked down at the same time. Bruce reached down to hoist the puppy up.

"Tony, how old is this puppy?" Bruce asked immediately, looking at Tony with a raised eyebrow. He then looked back down at the puppy's paws, squeezing one studiously. "Better question, how big is this dog supposed to get?"

"Uh, I think he's like ten weeks. And have you ever seen a Newfoundland before?"

Bruce's eyes widened. "You got us… You adopted a Newfoundland? First of all, Tony, you could have just adopted a mixed breed from a shelter and it would have been fine. Second of all, did you just go online and search for the biggest dog possible?" He looked torn between exasperation and amusement.

"Did you not think I would?" Tony asked with a guilty shrug. "Hey, I mean, I figured the bigger the better. This breed is supposed to be non-aggressive and good in tense situations and good with children." Bruce narrowed his eyes suddenly. "And, come on, you know all three of those makes sense for our particular case."

"I… Yeah, I guess so," Bruce conceded with a shrug. "And he's a cute ball of fluff so I'm not mad. I just… Jeez, is he going to be a handful around this place," he said with a laugh. "And the team is gonna love him. Did they help with this I take it? That's what you were really talking about the other day isn't it?"

"Guilty. Not that there's not another surprise. There is. Clint wants to name him Pizza," Tony said in quick succession, blowing out a nervous breath with a small laugh.

"Yeah, well, Clint's not getting his way. But have you thought about names? Do you think Hulk will be mad if we name him without him?" Bruce suddenly pulled his face away from the squirmy puppy's long tongue.

Tony petted the puppy to calm him down, shrugging as he did. "I figure we don't have to name him right away if you don't feel right naming him before Hulk sees him and has a say. But it's totally up to you. Hulk didn't have any ideas when I asked him last time. My vote was for Zeppelin."

"We are not calling him Zeppelin," Bruce replied with a laugh and set the puppy down on their bed.

"Figured that would be your response." Tony rolled his eyes playfully. "But we aren't naming him something exotic either. Like Oolong."

Bruce shot him an amused grin. "Really? You really think I'd want to name him after tea? Oolong isn't even that exotic. I could probably come up with some pretty great exotic names not even in the vicinity of Oolong." Bruce shook his head at him and then looked back at the puppy with a tilt of his head. "But, no, I don't think we should name him after anything musical or exotic. It should probably be simple. Not sure how I feel about people names though so that doesn't leave us a lot of options unless we concede on one of the other two."

"Clint figured we'd probably name him something science-y," Tony recalled.

"Hmm, that's not a horrible option," Bruce replied with a shrug. "Or we could meet in the middle on your pop culture idea with a character name that isn't also a common person name."

"Ugh. Hulk was right. Names hard," Tony said with a melodramatic grimace and Bruce laughed in response.

"Yeah, well, I think naming him will be the least of our problems. Wait 'til this guy gets bigger. Not to sound completely spoiled, but we're taking him to the pet spa regularly. I am not giving him a bath on a regular basis," he said, still stifling chuckles.

"Pfft. Of course. Our dog's going to have the best celebrity dog life ever. And don't even give me that not spoiled thing," Tony teased as he sat down on the edge of the bed and the puppy scurried over to his waiting hand. "Admit it, you've totally gotten used to my way of life. And you love it."

"I don't _always_ hate it, if that's what you mean." Bruce teased back.

"It's not. You know exactly what I meant. You're just doing the stubborn, woe is me, selfless poor guy thing again. But I'm on to you, honeybunch. I'm on to you." Tony wagged a finger and Bruce rolled his eyes slightly before heading toward the shower.

"Old habits die hard," Bruce said as he paused at the door to the en suite. "But to be perfectly honest, at one point I wanted the best of both worlds. Maybe not to be this obnoxiously rich, well, by proxy in this case, I guess." He shrugged. "But I wanted the whole dream house, dream car, dream family thing and enough money to be well-off in addition to changing the world with science and helping people. And I have my fair share of ego. You know that."

There was a long silence and finally Bruce sighed and was about to leave, but Tony stopped him before he could. "Hey, Bruce. If you ever think we don't help enough people, let me know. I want you to have the best of both worlds, too. And I want to share those worlds with you. You know that, right? I'm not really trying to give you a hard time about the money thing. It's just… The pride, I guess. Wanting to share with you what I have. My… My life. Because that's a big part of what it amounts to."

"I know, Tony," Bruce tilted his head for a moment, but then nodded. "I knew that when I started dating you. All of this, okay, maybe it's more than I ever expected or feel like I deserve sometimes, but it's you. It's a piece of who you are and I wouldn't want you to change everything for me. And the money isn't what spoils me. That's all you." Bruce gave him a reassuring smile that spoke his contentment before disappearing into the bathroom.

Tony couldn't help but return the smile as he watched Bruce go. He looked down at the puppy that had curled up against his thigh and the smile grew. It was true that money had always been a big part of his life or as he considered it, but as he thought about his team and Hulk and Bruce, and now even this unexpected addition, he decided to reconsider it. Money was a big part of his existence, but it wasn't much of a life before the others had come along.


	6. Name That Puppy

**6 - Name That Puppy**

"Alright, no more putting this off," Bruce said as Tony followed him into the Hulk room he'd built in the tower for emergencies or just when Hulk needed a breather for a while. "He's practically been pushing to come out for a few days now and I have a pretty good idea why."

"He wants to see the puppy of course," Tony said knowingly as he looked down at the ball of fluff in his arms. "Why shouldn't he be excited?"

"Well, it not meshing with his rage monster image comes to mind," Bruce answered with a small laugh. "I swear, it never ceases to amaze me how wrong I was about him. And you can wipe the smug grin off your face, Tony," he said without turning to look at him. "I know you're gloating right now."

"Or maybe I just like being the guy who helped make that happen for you," Tony responded, though no less smug about it. "Because I do. And nothing you say will change that."

"Good," Bruce replied, much to his surprise. "I don't want it to change," he said as they entered the room and he shut the door behind them. "If it changes then… I don't know what I'd do."

"It's not going to change," Tony said, hoping to dissuade him from that line of thinking. "We just adopted a puppy, Bruce. And I'm excited for the other side of you to see the puppy. And we're building another home together. Seriously, you've got nothing to worry about. Not now. And I hope not ever. So go on and take off your shirt and let Hulk out. Because the little guy's gettin' heavy," Tony finished with a laugh.

"Alright, alright. Keep _your_ shirt on," Bruce retorted and then began preparing for the transformation. "Say hi to Hulk for me," he joked right before letting the Other Guy have control.

Tony looked down at the puppy in his arms as Bruce transformed, watching his reaction. His head cocked back and forth a few times and he began squirming and sniffing the air instinctively. His head cocked again one more time and then his tail began beating wildly against Tony's arm. Tony couldn't have contained his overjoyed laugh if he tried.

"Hey, Hulk. Bruce says hi," Tony said as soon as Hulk was looking at him clearly.

"Puppy," Hulk said, ignoring the other part because obviously it was a joke and Tony was sure even Hulk knew that. Hulk pointed at the dog, which was squirming against Tony to get down and inspect the large, green creature.

"That's right, Big Green." Tony said smiled and set the puppy down carefully. "Our puppy. But I'm sure you already figured that out. Bruce says you've been excited to meet him properly."

Hulk gave his signature primitive smile and nodded once. He then cautiously sat down, Tony following suit. The puppy scurried back towards Tony for a moment as Hulk lowered himself to the floor, but then immediately turned back once he did.

"Good puppy," Hulk said, as the puppy climbed up onto his lap with a little difficulty – like climbing stairs on wobbly puppy legs. "Bear-puppy."

"Bear puppy?" Tony scrunched his face at the unexpected comment. "Huh. He does look a little like a bear doesn't he?" He laughed a little. "He's brown and big, that's for sure."

Hulk grunted his agreement. "Bear-puppy."

"He's going to get big like a bear too. You won't be the only big guy on campus," Tony added, deciding it best to explain that now. "JARVIS, pull up a picture of a full grown Newfoundland."

"Yes, sir," JARVIS intoned before a holographic screen displayed in the room.

"See. This little guy's gonna get big. You okay with that?" Tony asked curiously.

"Big like Hulk. Strong. Good," Hulk approved.

"Not as strong, of course. So we'll still have to be careful. But yeah, big and strong."

"Bear-dog," Hulk reiterated.

"Yeah, buddy. Bear-dog." Tony nodded with an amused smile. "We'll have to let you out more frequently so you can play with him now that we've got him. Don't want you pushing too hard on Bruce just because you're rightfully excited. You know you two don't get along so well when that happens. Sound fair?"

Hulk huffed slightly at first. "Fair," he finally conceded.

"Okay. We'll talk about it and work something out. Something that works for both of you," Tony explained, not at all minding being the go between for the two egos whenever necessary – although it seemed more and more like Bruce and Hulk were starting to reach out to each other inside their shared psyched on their own accord.

Tony sat back and let Hulk play with the puppy, only joining in every now and then when he couldn't resist or Hulk wanted him to. After about thirty minutes, whatever strange happy effect puppies had on Hulk, caused him to get that faraway look in his eyes again much sooner than Tony had been expecting. It was curious and Tony decided he'd collect casual data from now on to analyze the effect.

"Having fun, Hulk?" Tony ventured.

He grunted. "Have fun again soon?"

"Of course, Big Green," Tony reassured him with a smile as he often did. And he felt that warm feeling in his chest, knowing that Hulk trusted him. Out of all of the people in the world, Hulk had trusted him. He trusted Tony not to hurt him and he trusted Tony not to hurt Bruce. He was sure Hulk had probably figured out that he and Bruce belonged together long before they had – and they were supposed to be the geniuses. Then again, maybe love was more of a basic instinct type thing and Hulk had that in spades.

"Be good, Bear-puppy," Hulk said with another smile and stroke of one finger gently on the puppy's head before closing his eyes and returning to Bruce's form, once again much quicker than usual.

At this change, the puppy skidded backwards a little and began moving his head from side to side again. Tony watched the puppy study the process with obvious curiosity. He smiled as, similar to before, the puppy seemed to recognize everything was okay – that this was normal – and began bouncing up and down and wagging his tail at Bruce's return. The puppy then bounded over to Bruce and nuzzled his hand.

Bruce smiled warmly as he opened his eyes again and looked down at their new companion. "Hey, there, little guy," he said, voice slightly hoarse as he regained his strength.

Tony smiled fondly at the scene for a moment before moving to sit beside Bruce against the wall of the room. He wrapped his arm around his shoulders and Bruce immediately leaned into his chest to rest a little.

"Hulk definitely approved," Tony said softly as he carded a few fingers through Bruce's hair, almost in sync with Bruce's petting of the puppy that decided to sprawl out across both of their outstretched laps.

"That's good. Did you ask him about a name?"

"Uh… I forgot, actually. Guess I got too carried away by his enthusiasm," Tony answered honestly. "But he did keep calling him Bear-puppy," he added.

"Bear," Bruce said thoughtfully.

"Hey, you know, I like that," Tony replied as it suddenly hit him that Hulk was trying to name the dog. "That would be a good name. He looks like a bear."

"I like it too. And we could always be a little pretentious and spell it B-e-h-r," Bruce added as a consideration.

"Yeah, like Hans Hermann or something. But I like it either way. Definitely works for him."

"Mmhmm," Bruce murmured as he closed his eyes and buried his a little deeper against Tony.

Tony adjusted his arm to hold him tighter as he looked down at Bruce and then down at the exhausted puppy now napping on their laps. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his own eyes. A content grin spread across his face. This was not a life anyone would have ever expected for the prodigy heir to the Stark legacy, least of all one that he would have expected for himself.

It was better.

{FIN}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it was overwhelmingly fluffy in the best kind of way. More domestic adventures of Bruce and Tony + Bear (Behr?) in this little verse possibly to come.


End file.
